Dry Lake has a little bit of water and ice. Last fall is was completely dry. Some years the water is up to the sage brush line and the water floods the Pete French Round Barn (shoot a color day). Riddle Mountain is in the back ground.

In my book, barn wood is a color 😉 The weathered wood goes hand in hand with the dry high desert winter colors. This is the Pete French Round Barn which is about 10 miles down the road from us. Riddle Mountain is in the background. When visiting the Round Barn, it’s a MUST to see the Visitor’s Center; they have the best gift shop in Harney County!

For a little history…quoting from their website:

“The Pete French round barn is one of the stops on your (Jenkins) tour. It was here that cattle king Pete French trained horses (for driving) during the winter months. The inside of the barn is uniquely made from juniper posts and lumber that was hauled from over 60 miles from the north. The round barn was built in the late 1870’s or early 1880’s, the date is not certain. The barn remains much as it was in Pete French’s day with some minor repairs to the outside and roof. The (Jenkins) family donated the Pete French Round Barn to the state of Oregon in 1969.”

I started with the dogs, and they wouldn’t run the right direction or angle for me, so I thought I’d cheat and use the round pen and a horse! I have to say, it was a half fail…I never did get a nice, crisp shot of Pierce…the legs were always really fuzzy. I did use the Tv (shutter speed) setting for the first time ever and figured out I had to adjust the ISO (HUGE learning curve for me today). But, it was cloudy and snowy too…I wish there had been sun!

There was one shot that was pretty good, but I chose this shot because Rastus was in there too on the outside of the pen, and even though I chopped off his nose, this photo is more interesting…not to mention Pierce is givin’ a bit of a buck…he was frisky!

Oh heck…this is my blog, and I can post whatever I want! 😉 So, here’s the better shot…but I have a LOT of practicing to do to perfect the technique of panning!

I spent the day in town and didn’t have the time (nor the patience) to attempt Bokeh which was today’s photo challenge.

I’ve been watching this old shed for years…and every year it sags just a little bit more. I will eventually have a sequence of photos with the final photo being the shed on the ground. I hope it will be in my lifetime…it’s a stubborn ol’ shed!

For today’s photo challenge, I opted to photograph my best cow horse EVER, Colt 45 (aka Colt, AQHA registered name River Bug Rambler) and our new saddle. We’ve had saddle fitting issues and had to finally break down and get a custom made saddle.

Nothing fancy, it’s a working saddle. But I rode him today, and when I pulled the saddle off of him, he didn’t crank his tail…I think he likes it!!! We’re ready to go day work cows now…and I can’t wait to rope the first calf come branding season!

I think my favorite thing about this photo is the snow on Colt’s nose 😉

Sunrise at feeding time this morning…wispy clouds, fog, blue sky, not a puff of wind…and 10 degrees. This is the beginning of another beautiful winter day in the high desert! Taken with my little Nikon CoolPix.

I call this “A Bowl of Sunset”…as I look SE from my barn when the sun is setting, at the right moment the shadows and contours of the hillside make this bowl of light. It changes colors with the type of sunset, so you don’t know what you’ll get to see until it’s there. Mother Nature is always full of surprises!

Just when you think it’s an easy day for a great photo…NOT! Our annual trip up to Ruby Springs for Christmas tree cutting turned out to be an absolutely gorgeous day…spring-like weather, good friends, food and fun…but no ice on the creek…there’s always ice on the creek!!!

The closest thing to ice was the melting snow at the creek’s edge which had turned to ice before melting into the creek. I do love the mini lily pads!

I’m standing inside the last remaining building of Old Princeton which happens to be on our ranch. This view is looking south to the rim rock and our house.

I wonder back in the early days what the view looked like then. Is where I’m standing where the telephone switchboard was? Or maybe a desk? What I do know is that when I step into the old building, it’s like stepping back in time.

I chose a sunrise…At -15 F, my sunrise shoot didn’t last long…and I got impatient (besides my fingers getting frozen) for the sun to do something spectacular. I gave it up with this final shot facing north…the sun is just hitting the top of Windy Point.